An icy Hammersmith Lyric Square was left 'unsafe' by Hammersmith and Fulham Council for days, claim angry shoppers.

After heavy snowfall last Sunday night, Lyric Square was transformed into a 'deadly' pool of uncleared snow and ice for three days.

This reporter saw one elderly women tumble and several more people narrowly avoided falling after slipping on the ice.

Several residents believed Hammersmith and Fulham Council could have done more to make the square safer, as most of the surrounding roads had been completely cleared of snow and ice.

Mr Vidler of the West Kensington Estate, just off North End Road, said: "There has been a lack of planning, because the council must have known the snow was coming.

"It's these little things that the council should be doing, either salting or clearing these areas which are used by so many people each day.

"A few times I've nearly fallen over while walking across the square myself."

Alan Horne of Grove Mews, Hammersmith, added: "I've had to wear wellies because walking around here is just deadly and treacherous. It looks like it might have been the wrong choice of paving, because the surface is not safe."

Andy Slaughter, MP for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush, also found treacherous conditions while walking in the borough.

In his latest newsletter, he wrote: "I walked up to do my surgery in Uxbridge Road. Not even the main roads had been touched. Elderly and blind people were slipping about and the few vehicles out were crawling along."

H&F Council's cabinet member for crime and street scene, Cllr Greg Smith, said council staff and contractors had done all they could to keep the borough safe and moving. He said: "Our two carriageway gritters were deployed at around 8.30pm on Sunday evening as weather conditions deteriorated. They began to follow the preplanned gritting regime of priority roads and we would like to thank residents for their patience in what as been a challenging time for Londoners.

"We also had four flat bed trucks for manual gritting of roads and paths. Many staff who are normally employed on refuse and recycling collections were redeployed on Monday and Tuesday to grit roads and clear snow."